Where Have the Law Student Bloggers Gone?

We went out on a limb in 2009 to judge a blogging genre known as angst-ridden and humorous law student blogs, coming up with our ten favorite law student blogs. After two years, we are going out on a limb again, looking for top-notch law student blogs (help us out by suggesting one on Facebook or Twitter).

But, before we get started, it’s time to revisit our favorites from 2009 to see how well we cursed them. Who graduated? Who’s still in law school? Who passed the bar and landed a job? And who bagged the whole concept of being a lawyer and is now on a sailboat in the Pacific? Here’s what we found, though the executive summary is telling: of the ten we picked two years ago, only one is still blogging and in law school. The others have either graduated or ditched their blogs, or both.

i don’t wear skinny jeans

Unfortunately, we don’t know what happened to idwsj, who described himself in 2009 as “a twenty-something guy trying to make it as an NYU law student from 0L to 3L.” The last blog post was titled “Bye” and said only that the “entire blawg will self-destruct soon. I don’t like goodbyes. I almost toasted this blawg without a word, but….” The blog has since faded from the earth. If you know what idwsj is doing, let us know.

laughing: with or at you

“Laughing” described herself in 2009 as “yet another law student, at a somewhere-in-the-middle school.” At the time she was a 2L. While the blog still exists, it hasn’t been updated since April 2010. If everything has gone to plan, though, Laughing would now be a law school graduate and waiting for bar exam results while working for a top 100 law firm. We’ve put in for a word from her but have not yet heard back.

Law Ingenue

In 2009, she was a “37-year-old 3L Michigan diva who’s not afraid to give the death glare.” Today? We don’t know. Her blog is available only to private readers, if it still exists at all. If you’ve run into Law Ingenue and have something to report, we’re all ears.

Legally Fabulous

In 2009, she was a “3L blond aspiring to be Elle Woods,” though Elle Woods is also the name of her great dane. Now? Still blogging (and tweeting) as Legally Fabulous, living in Chicago with her great dane and a gay roommate, and waiting for the results of the July 2011 Illinois bar exam. After waiting for the results from the July 2010 and February 2011 bar exams. But she’s not shy about telling you about her past bar failings, or past failings of any sort, describing herself in part as “currently underemployed, broke, job searching.” Honestly, Bitter Lawyer will buy Legally Fabulous a bottle of bubbly if she passes, so let us know.

My Legal Fiction

Then? We wrote that Rebekah Chor’s blog had “quick, bite-size chunks of procrastination with a tasty blog center, served with joyful moral turpitude from a hater’s point of view.” Now? Another graduate waiting for bar exam results. But, hallelujah!. Her blog is still active and, in response to our email to her, she says it is “going through an awkward transition that is similar to what child actors go through after they cross the rubicon of puberty.” She was very appreciative of our asking about her student loans, reporting that her “youngest was just promoted from deferment to repayment. And the oldest? Well, she has always been a bit of a free spirit and is still trying to discover her place in this world.” Chor is now considering various options, including graduate school or opening a law office, but said she also is thinking of just becoming a public intellectual or revolutionary. We wish her the best.

No. 634

While the old 634 blog is gone, Mr. 634 and former law student Dennis Jansen is still in Minnesota, having graduated from the University of Minnesota School of Law in 2011. Jansen still maintains a prolific online presence, including on Twitter and with his new site, dennis-jansen.com, which now categorizes all his prior law school posts by year and semester. What’s he doing now? What most recent law grads are doing: waiting for bar exam results and looking for legal work.

Thanks, But No Thanks

TBNT’s last blog post pretty much sums it up: this name appears on the pass list. His name, for the public at least, was simply “Nobody.” We presume TBNT passed the bar exam and is not looking back. Or else is now blogging somewhere else under a new pseudonym of “I’m Somebody.” In any event, TBNT has faded away.

Virgin in the Volcano

Virgin in the Volcano, a former writing instructor and now a lawyer in Los Angeles, is still going strong, blogging about writing, work, and her gay-not-gay boyfriend, among other interests. She graduated from law school in 2010, failed the California bar on her first try, but passed it this past May. Good post to read to sum up what she’s doing: The Job Report.

Legally Questionable Content

Like i don’t wear skinny jeans, Legally Questionable Content has disappeared. When we checked in two years ago, he was blogging about his pre-law experience and applying to law schools. We can only assume he got in somewhere, started school, and learned it may be best to shut up to get ahead. Or he ditched the whole law school dream and cashed in on law school swap futures. We don’t know.

Hi there,
I’m not exactly a law student blogger, but I’m a blogger nonetheless. I’m going to go out on a limb and state that one of the reasons why people start blogs and abandon them is because of the fact that there’s really no reward attached to blogging, no real motivation. I know, some guys might say that they’re doing it to get rid of some of that oh-so-popular angst, but let’s face it: behavior is motivated by reward. I’ve bookmarked the still-active blogs for reading later on. Thanks for this invaluable resource!
Alana